The Practice Of Waiting: A Short Talk

Carolyn offers her personal reflections about what can be revealed when we wait. Originally published on Substack in written form, she shares a couple of things to learn when we halt the hustle and problem-solving mentality. If you'd like a brief reminder that waiting is not lazy and that pausing before responding is a deeply caring act, give this a listen.

Transcript

What I'm practicing right now is waiting.

Just wait,

I tell myself.

With a problem,

With planning,

With feeling like I said the wrong thing at the wrong time,

Wait.

Rushing towards my phone,

Jumping to conclusions,

Or frantically comparing won't provide the wise answers I seek.

I don't have to be the one who has it all figured out immediately.

I can wait.

What I'm training all the versions of myself to believe is that there is no shame in waiting,

Nor in moving slow.

If I mindfully wait on a decision or on reacting,

It isn't apathy.

To wait is not uncaring.

Somewhere along the way in our virtue signaling cancel culture,

I've noticed that we fear pausing or resting will be perceived as a lack of heart.

Along the way,

We've been shamed by ourselves and others for taking a minute to process.

Along the way,

Assumptions have overrun this truth that waiting is how we soothe,

How we clarify,

And how we discover the next move.

Waiting isn't a weakness.

It will cause discomfort because it's different.

But when we wait,

We create room for wisdom to emerge.

Waiting with the intention of filling our own cup is a long lost art form.

Sometimes the practice of being intentional isn't valued as highly as impact.

And sometimes intention is an okay place to wait.

I want to take up space to observe,

To nurture,

To not know.

How could I ever give to our world without tending to my own inner world first?

It takes intention and lots of practice to pause and give to self first before anyone else.

I should also admit that I have a big voracious goal for 2025.

Yet I don't want to forget to stay intentional around my actions.

If I'm going to keep moving forward and rising,

I need to be equally as trusting and reverent to the silent and unseen practice of waiting.

What a practice.

Reviews

I love this and I can absolutely relate. Thank you for sharing this!

Appreciate the reset that a pause and waiting are valuable ways to sit before taking action.

Perfect to listen to over the Christmas holidays ✨️

Wonderful reflections on the art of pausing and waiting.

beautiful meditation thank you for sharing this with us Namaste

Wonderful reminder & very insightful.

Men

Thank you for that. Sometimes I fee really compelled to respond immediately and I have found myself checking in with me sometimes before I do. This is a great reminder to everyone to stop and wait.

A powerful and meaningful meditation with a message I needed to hear. Thank you.

May we meet each other in the waiting 🙏🕯️☯️🕊️☯️🕯️🙏

I just discover this teacher thanks to the challenge, and this audio is full of wisdom, thank you very much 🙏✨️💕

Thank you! That was just what I needed to hear - I think many people will too. And I believe your big, voracious goal will come to fruition. Be voracious. Be greedy. Take up space. Thank you for reminding me to do the same.

Thank you! As one who has no patience at all and wants immediate answers I love this short talk about waiting

This is so timely for me. Thank you

Thank you for these wise words that could change the world if everyone followed them. I will try in my corner of the world!🙏🏻

A great reminder to slow down and allow silence and stillness to teach us

Thank you for this important reminder 🫶🏼✨

So true, thank you.